How to Certify your Bluetooth product

This wiki article is provided to help guide system designers with an overview of the certification & listing process needed to bring an end product incorporating a TI SimipleLinkTMBluetooth® low energy wireless MCU to the market. The content on this page shall be considered informative with the actual standards body (e.g., Bluetooth SIG, FCC, etc.) providing the normative requirements.

In order to sell your Bluetooth low energy product in EU and on the North American market, your equipment needs to comply with the regulatory requirements of FCC (Federal Communications Committee), European Commission (R&TTE) and IC (Industry Canada). For a Bluetooth device there is also a need for Bluetooth SIG qualification and declaration process to demonstrate and declare your products satisfy the requirements of the Bluetooth license agreements. The Bluetooth qualification process aims to deliver a seamless user experience through the vast number of Bluetooth mobile devices that are available in the market. This wiki article presents the fundamentals of going through the process of releasing an end product incorporating a TI Bluetooth low energy (BLE) wireless MCU.

It is important to understand the distinction between a wireless MCU and an end product that incorporates the wireless MCU along with external circuitry such as an antenna, matching components, ground plane, etc., which together comprise the "end product". Unless otherwise noted, the referenced regulatory and standards body referenced in this guide apply to the end product.

CC2650MODA

The CC2650MODA module is pre-certified for the regulatory standards listed in section 6.12 of the CC2650MODA datasheet. Using the modules in the countries or regions covered by these regulations requires no additional testing.
The end product must be marked according to section 6.13 of the datasheet. Further information about this marking, for example size and placement of text and symbols, can be found on FCC and Industry Canada web sites.

CC2650MODA Bluetooth qualification

Bluetooth qualification must be done according to guidelines below. There is however no need for PHY testing, the BT PHY QDID for the module can be re-used for the qualification process.

Bluetooth Qualification

In order to release a Bluetooth end product to market, the solution need to be Qualified. Texas Instruments Single Mode Bluetooth low energy solutions have Qualified Design Listings (QDL) with corresponding Qualified Design Identification (QDID) for all Bluetooth low energy solutions. By leveraging the TI QDIDs, the amount of testing required to list a Bluetooth low energy product is greatly reduced. Typically Bluetooth PHY testing must be done separately for new hardware, meaning that BT PHY testing done by Texas Instruments on evaluation boards cannot be reused. This testing has to be done by an authorized test lab (such as 7Layers, AT4wireless,TUV Rheinland and Wipro ). The test houses do also typically have a Bluetooth Qualification Consultant (BQC) which can be used for further guidance through the qualification process.

Qualification Quick Start Guide

Note: The following guide is based on the Bluetooth SIG legacy Test Plan Generator (TPG) which has since been superseded by the new Launch Studio. Although the basic qualification test requirements remain the same, Launch Studio replaces the qualification workflow with a new interface to guide you through the Bluetooth qualification process. While the below guide is being updated to match the Launch Studio workflow, the QDIDs and related changes to the Layer and Implementation Conformance Statement (ICS) selection remain valid during the new Launch Studio workflow.

This guide follows the "Bluetooth Qualification and Declaration Processes" on the Bluetooth SIG website and can be used to complete the Qualification and Declaration Process. If you are using the Texas Instruments BLE-Stack to develop your product, you will most often use an End Product Listing (EPL). Creating an EPL listing is the simplest and easiest path towards Bluetooth qualification as you will reuse TI's Qualified Designs thus reducing the amount of testing required to complete the listing process.

The process is slightly different between the CC2640 and the CC254x devices. For the CC2640 there is a pre-qualified "Component" QDID which covers the full SW stack (controller and host) and the profiles. The RF-PHY is done separately which allows the customer to easily add this as a part of their own qualification. The CC254x has pre-qualified sub-systems. These are separate for the controller, the host and the profiles. The RF-PHY qualification is part of the controller sub-systems which means that customers typically cannot re-use the controller part in their qualification.

CC2640/CC2640R2F

This procedure applied to all CC26xx and CC13xx Bluetooth low energy wireless MCUs when using the supported software: CC2640/CC2650/CC1350 and CC2640R2F. For simplicity, throughout the guide "CC2640" may be used for these devices. This guide is adapted to TRCL 2017-1.

If using the TI-BLE-Stack SDK to develop your product, click on "Start here" (blue button) above Modifying an existing Bluetooth design in any way to create a new listing on the Bluetooth Qualification and Declaration Processes page. The CC2640/CC2640R2F use a Qualified Component QDID for the Stack. After logging in, you will be redirected to the "Create Project" page.

On the Create Project page, select "Reference a Qualified Traditional Project" and enter the QDID 82185 for BLE-Stack v2.2+ or 94079 for BLE5-Stack v1.0.x. Enter a name for your project. Set the Product Type to "End Product" as shown below.

Press Save and access your saved project under My Projects.

If you are using the CC2650 Module (CC2650MODA) or a 3rd party pre-certified module that provides a RF-PHY QDID, select "Combine with a QDID" from the Project Options pulldown menu. Enter the QDID corresponding to the design into the Search Parameters box and press Search (The CC2650MODA RF-PHY QDID is 88415). Select "Combine" in the search results if the desired QDID was found. Note that the CC2650EM or LaunchPad QDID cannot be used.

On the project page, select "Layers" and unselect "4.0HCI / 4.0 Host Controller Interface" under CORE PROTOCOLS and then unselect/select adopted profile(s)/services you are using. Custom profiles do not need to be listed/tested during the certification process provided they are using a 128-bit UUID. Save the project.

If you are not using a pre-certified module with an RF-PHY QDID, select "RF-PHY" on the same Layers page under CORE PROTOCOLS. Save the project.

On the "Core ICS" page, select the PROD link (next to CORE:) and set End Product to YES and Component (Tested)to NO as shown below for the "Product Types" category:

On the "Core ICS" page, select the GAP link. Set to NO the following GAP items: Table 8a, Item 17 and Table 20a, Item 17. This will remove the "AD Type URI" from your listing.

If not using a pre-certified module: On the "Core ICS" page, select RF-PHY and set the following table entries to YES: Table 1, Item 3 and Table 2, Item 1. This will show you supporting LE Transceiver (Connectable, Peripheral/Central with the HCI Test Interface.

Run the Consistency Check to confirm zero invalid items.

Upload your test evidence (e.g. RF-PHY testing, Profile (PTS)).

Purchase a Declaration ID. The Declaration Type is "Standard Listing" and fees are dependent on membership level.

Sign Declaration of Compliance (DoC) by an authorized member of your company.

Done. Note that you may be required to complete regulatory testing depending on where you sell or distribute your product.

CC254x

If using the TI-BLE-Stack SDK (Controller and Host) to develop your product, click on "Create Listing" (orange button) under Start B: Product Listing and Declaration to create a new listing on the Bluetooth Qualification and Declaration Processes page.

Contact a certified test lab to perform PHY testing on your product and create a new controller subsystem QDID

Enter your controller QDID and TI's QDIDs from this wiki into the tool, it should recognize them. The screenshot below shows an example using the CC254x QDIDs

This will create a end product listing that references TI's pre-qualified QDIDs for host, and profile subsystems and your QDID for the controller subsystem. You may leave the end product section blank.

Click on the link to purchase a Declaration ID. The Declaration Type is "Standard Listing" and fees are dependent on membership level.

The CC264x and CC1350 Family together with BLE protocol stack utilize qualified Components (instead of subsystems) which simplifies the qualification process significantly and permits the end device to implement a modified RF antenna layout. By using a qualified component, the amount of testing required to list (declare) your Bluetooth product is substantially reduced as the RF-PHY certification testing is a separate (smaller) component that is typically performed at the same time as regulatory testing.

The CC2650 Module from TI (CC2650MODA) has an RF-PHY component in addition to regulatory modular radio pre-certification (see details in the table below). This means that you do not have to repeat RF-PHY testing when using CC2650MODA. If you are using another pre-certified module, check with your module vendor to see if you can reuse the module's RF-PHY QDID listing. The CC2650-7ID also has an RF-PHY Qualified Design Listing (QDL) This is to demonstrate the ability of the CC2640/CC2650 to achieve RF-PHY certification only and cannot be reused as test evidence in a customer application when obtaining regulatory or end product listings. For the rest of the software solution the protocol stack component can be referred to during the end product listing process.

When completing the Bluetooth listing process, select the BLE-Stack component corresponding to the BLE protocol stack version you are using in your product. A guide is listed above for entering this information on the Bluetooth SIG website. The following table lists the QDIDs that are valid (excluding RF-PHY for TI Development kits as mentioned above) for use with Bluetooth end product qualification. Refer to the SimpleLink Bluetooth SIG Certification Update article for updates to legacy QDIDs or QDIDs that may be nearing the end of their component validity period.

Note: As specified by section 3.1.7.1 'Testing Requirements for Qualification of Combinations of Bluetooth Products' in the Bluetooth Qualification Program Reference Document (PRD): "Combinations involving Bluetooth Component Products shall repeat all Bluetooth profile interoperability tests applicable to the combination." These tests can be performed on the end product using the PTS dongle which can be obtained on the BT SIG store: http://bluetoothstore.org. Only the Adopted Bluetooth Profiles need to be tested, and testing can be self-performed. Custom profiles that utilize a 128-bit custom UUID do not require testing during the listing process.

Qualified Designs CC2540 / CC2541 & BLE-Stack v1.4.x

The CC254x Family (including CC2540, CC2540T CC2541, CC2541-Q1) together with BLE-Stack (v.1.4) has qualified subsystems that can be referred to when listing a Bluetooth low energy product. Note that due to RF-PHY certification it will typically be required to create a new Controller Subsystem. However, only RF-PHY tests may be required. For BLE RF-PHY, you can do in-house testing by using Testers from Rohde & Schwarz or Anritsu and then have a test house (such as 7Layers, AT4wireless,TUV Rheinland and Wipro ) put together the new controller subsystem for the specific product.

FAQ

Can I reuse TI's Declaration ID when listing my product with Bluetooth SIG?
No. Each product must obtain its own Declaration ID. You may reference TI's qualified components or subsystems (QDID's) in your product's listing as noted above to reduce the amount of testing required to qualify your end product.

If I don't put the Bluetooth logo on my product, do I still need to list my product with Bluetooth SIG?
Please refer to the "Do I Need to List and/or Qualify My Product?" guide on the Bluetooth SIG website. Additional questions on this topic should be directed to Bluetooth SIG directly via their contact information. Please note that TI cannot determine whether a product must be listed/qualified as it is the customer's responsibility to adhere to all regulatory, certification & qualification requirements.
If you determine that you need to list (certify) your product with BT SIG, then you follow the the process that is listed under "Qualification Quick Start Guide" above. You can combine with the TI BLE stack QDID (this will save you the bulk of the testing), test only the adopted service(s) you are using with the PTS tool, and do the RF-PHY testing (if you are not using a per-certified module). The TI SW has all the necessary hooks to enable the RF-PHY testing on the device side.

If you determine that you do not need to list your product with BT SIG, then these steps may not be required. However, you may need to perform regulatory testing (e.g., FCC) depending on where you sell / ship your product.

I have created a design similar to the CC2541EM but smaller, can I refer to the TI QDIDs in my EPL?
If you have created your own RF Circuitry (i.e., changed the RF layout from one of the qualified TI designs), you need to perform RF-PHY test before creating the EPL to ensure that your design is compliant. Contact a test house (including BQC) for a consultation. You can still re-use TI's QDID's for Host & Profile assuming you have not modified the TI Host and/or Profiles.

My test facility has said that the CC254x QDIDs are expired and thus are ineligible for use, or I need to test with the latest TCRL.
The CC254x uses a subsystem certification which does not expire. The CC254x QDIDs listed above are still valid and indicated as such when submitted to the SIG Qualification Listing Interface. There is no certification requirement to test with updated TCRLs when using the TI CC254x QDIDs.

What is a Bluetooth Qualification Consultant (BQC)?

Previously known as a BQE or "Bluetooth Qualification Expert (BQE)", an individual recognized by the Bluetooth SIG to provide a Bluetooth member with qualification related services

Expert in understanding the qualification policy and process

Optional for members to use them

I have created my own proprietary profiles, do I need to qualify them?
No, those are not part of the qualification process. However, please note that they should follow the GATT protocol (i.e. have a primary service, characteristic declarations with proper formatting, etc.) and use 128-bit custom UUIDs.

Do I need to requalify or re-certify my product if I change to CC2640R2F?
A: The CC2640R2F has no changes to the frequency determining circuitry relative to the CC2640/CC2650 devices. As such, it will have the same RF PHY performance as the CC2640/CC2650. TI recommends contacting a certified test lab for all questions and topics related to regulatory compliance, including how to upgrade an existing, certified, design to CC2640R2F.
For Bluetooth SIG qualification, the same Bluetooth 4.2 protocol stack qualified design ID (QDID) is used on all SimpleLink CC26xx & CC13xx BLE devices. Note that changing the protocol stack configuration used by your application (e.g., going from BT 4.1 to 4.2) or any board layout changes may necessitate a requalification and/or regulatory re-certification. Please check with Bluetooth SIG’s website for qualification requirements.
TI has created an app note "Hardware Migration From CC2640F128 to CC2640R2F" (SWRA535) which can be referenced for additional hardware-related details when transitioning from CC2640 to CC2640R2F.

Can I reuse the CC2640 or CC254x FCC Certification?
The CC2640 and CC254x devices are wireless MCUs and thus cannot be individually certified by the FCC (or any regulatory body) since the wireless MCU + external RF design combination must be considered for regulatory listing purposes. However, you may reuse a module certification (MCU + Antenna) provided it is pre-certified with the respective regulatory body and you follow the layout placement guidelines from the data sheet. For example, the CC2650 Module from TI (CC2650MODA) has FCC, ETSI, IC (Canada) and Japan regulatory pre-certification. A listing of modules that incorporate TI Bluetooth low energy wireless MCUs can be found on the main BLE Wiki page. TI provides the necessary interfaces to allow you to perform the required regulatory testing. See the regulatory sections below for more details.

Where can I find a list of test facilities to perform regulatory & Bluetooth testing?
A list of Test Facilities can be be found on the Bluetooth SIG website (Requires login). Many of these test facilities can also perform regulatory testing.

My test lab is requesting me to fill out a form. Where can I find the required information?
All of the device-specific information can be found in the wireless MCU datasheet and the RF-PHY Test Parameters table listed above. The remaining items will be obtained by performing actual measurements on your board using Direct Test Mode (DTM) or Modem Test Commands. Details about the internal radio architecture needed for regulatory filing can be obtained by reviewing TI CC254x and CC26xx FCC filings. Refer to the "FCC Certification" section in this article.

FCC certification

Under Part 15 of the FCC rules, all electronic devices with a clock or oscillator exceeding 9 kHz need to be verified that they are not causing harmful radiated emissions. FCC Part 15 covers unintentional testing and evaluation as well as low power un-licensed transmitters. In addition, all transmitters must be registered and certified by the FCC to ensure they are not causing harmful emissions and interference on regulated frequencies.

Note: Device that incorporate a radio transceiver ("intentional radiators") must comply with FCC Part 15 Sub Part C, commonly referred to as "FCC Part 15C". All BLE wireless MCUs incorporate a transceiver and fall under the FCC Part 15C requirements.

Section 15.209 of the radio contains general radiated emission limits that apply to all Part 15 transmitters using frequencies at and above 9kHz. Section 15.247 and 15.249 give more detailed information about the emission requirements in the unlicensed 2.4GHz ISM band. Bluetooth low energy products are typically certified under 15.247 as Systems Using Digital Modulation. This will allow the radio to have higher output power than under 15.249 which is limited to 0 dBm. Bluetooth low energy is not considered FHSS under FCC.

There are two ways of getting a FCC certification, either directly from the FCC or through a TCB (Telecommunications Certification Body). For almost all devices one can chose either to use a TCB or FCC for the certification, the exception is when the equipment uses new technology or when the test methods are undefined or unclear – then FCC is the only party that can provide certification.

Devices may reuse a modular radio pre-certification provided that the module manufacturer's layout and placement guidelines are strictly followed, including display of the module's FCC ID. Refer to the module provider's data sheet for more details.

FCC ID

The FCC ID is a unique identifier, 4-17 characters, for the equipment and consists of two elements, the Grantee Code and the Equipment Product Code. The Grantee code is a three character alphanumeric string representing the Grantee/Applicant. The Grantee Code always begins with an alphabetic character and does not contain the numbers one and/or zero. The Grantee Code is assigned by the Commission permanently to a company for authorization of all radio frequency equipment.The Product Code is the non-grantee code portion of the FCC ID that begins after the first three characters. The Product Code may include hyphens and/or dashes (-). The Product code shall consist of minimum 1 and maximum 14 characters.The FFC ID must be permanently marked either directly on the transmitter, or on a tag that is permanently affixed to it. The FCC ID label must be readily visible to the purchaser at the time of purchase. Refer to the latest FCC regulations at the time of listing.

Product changes

There are several permissive changes (PC)/modifications that can be made to an RF device without the need for filing for a new equipment authorization, however changes to the basic frequency determining and stabilizing circuitry (including clock and data rate), frequency multiplication stages, basic modulator circuit or maximum power or field strength will always require a new FCC ID and a new equipment authorization to the FCC. There are 3 – three – classes of permissive changes:

Class 1: Changes that do not degrade the characteristics reported to the FCC and do not require a modification of the grant – No Filing is required

Class 2: Changes that degrade the performance reported to the FCC but are still in compliance with the limits and changes to the grant – Filing required

Class 3: Changes to software for a software defined/cognitive radio – Filing required

Class 1 changes could be changes on digital traces Please note that if there are no filing required there is a requirement to document the changes. If uncertain whether the change is a Class1 or Class 2 permissive change please consult with subject matter experts prior to asking the certification test house / TCB for guidance.

Class 2 changes could be a chip replacement of portions of the transmitter that performs some sub-functions such as an amplifier chip or for instance a oscillator chip. A class 2 change requires a description of the changes done and a re-test is needed to show that the devices are still in compliance and a test report showing compliance with the rules shall be provided to FCC. A class 2 change requires a filing to the FCC but the FCC ID will not changed.

Code Example

CE certification

In order to CE Mark and place any radio equipment on the market in EU you need to demonstrate compliance with the Radio Equipment Directive (RED). CE marking is a mandatory conformance mark on products placed on the European market. A CE mark indicates that the manufacturer or its authorized EU representative has declared that the product or equipment complies with all applicable European Directives, and enables the free movements of product within the European market. The CE marking is a declaration by the manufacturer, importer, or the entity first placing the product on the market that the product conforms to the appropriate directives. This is confirmed by the legally binding signature on the Declaration of Conformity.

For Short Range Devices operating in the 2.4GHz ISM band the relevant Harmonized Standards are:

On 16 April 2014, the European Union adopted a new set of rules for placing radio equipment on the European market, and putting them into service.
EU Member States have to adapt their National laws to this new Radio Equipment Directive (RED) (2014/53/EU, published on 22 May 2014), and apply its provisions from 13 June 2016. Manufacturers who were compliant with the existing legislation (RTTED or LVD/EMCD) will have until 13 June 2017 to comply with the new requirements.
The existing Radio & Telecommunications Terminal Equipment Directive (R&TTED) (1999/5/EC) was repealed on 13 June 2016.

For Bluetooth low energy applications the move from R&TTE to RED is reflected in EN 300 328 v. 2.1.1 which was released in November 2016. The new, applicable, parts of the specification is the introduction of receiver categories, and a receiver blocking test. More details about this, and how to perform this test, can be found in this application note: ETSI EN 300 328 RX Blocking Test for Bluetooth® Low Energy.

Even though the application note is based on BLE for the CC2640, the same method applies to BLE on CC254x and also to other 2.4 Ghz protocols such as 802.15.4 based systems.

Note that BLE does not classify as FHSS under ETSI specification and instead classifies as other type of wideband modulation (See section 4.2.1 of the EN 300 328 specification). Relevant test requirements for BLE are defined in Sec. 4.3.2. Note that revision 1.9.1 of the test specification introduced a few new tests such as Medium Utilization factor and Duty Cycle, TX-Sequence and TX-Gap. These tests only applies to equipment with higher output power than 10 dBm. Bluetooth low energy devices are limited to 10 dBm output power in the EU due to the Power Spectral Density requirement (4.3.2.3) which limits the radiated PSD to 10 dBm/MHz. As such, all required testing for CE/ETSI can be performed with continuous (static) RF output such as for FCC testing.

There are several routes to demonstrate compliance with the Radio Equipment Directive, for most cases meeting with the requirements of the relevant Harmonized Standards will provide presumption of conformity required thus enabling you to sign a Declaration of Conformity with confidence. A certified test house will provide the necessary guidance and help required to place your radio product on the market.

Industry Canada (IC) certification

Industry Canada (IC) is the Canadian authorities for certifications and standards making. As for FCC certification can either be done through IC or a TCB. For an IC certification one is required to have a Canadian representative, and IC requires that a confirmation letter from the representative is submitted with the application.

IC-ID

As for equipment intended for the US market the radio/EVM needs to be marked with the IC-ID. The IC-ID consists of two pars; Company Number (CN) and a Unique Product Number(UPN) which is chosen by the manufacturer. To optain a CN number use the E-filling system, when submitted the required information an e-mail will be sent with the CN.